So I bent the Tie rod in my 90 XJ. Has been suggested to me that I should do 1 of 2 things:

1.Install a Tie Rod Upgrade from RUSTYS

2.Install a GC(ZJ) V8 Tie Rod

I will be doing one or the other

I have read that right now my Tie Rod(stock) could have been the weak link in the suspension. If I do an upgrade,wont that bring to light any other weak components prone to failure? Will I end up needing to continually upgrade pieces once I start with the Tie Rod?

Im not all that hard core when I 4 wheel and this is my DD

 

Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about the rest of the "weaker" steering components for now. The tie rods are just so vulnerable on our rigs.

Me personally would go with the Rustys kit if you were looking to upgrade.

 

I'm rocking the zj TR... its solid and handles the crap ive been doing to it (vertical climbs from a side approach) which will kill a TR. the ZJ is hanging with my 35's for now and it set me back a grand total of maybe 130.00 in all.. Had to do mine in a parking lot behind a theater lol

 

what year grand cherokee do you tell the parts store ? sorry new to jeep word.

 

93-98 Grand Cherokee (ZJ) with a V8 (must specify V8)

 

i am also running the ZJ V8 tierod i like it.

 

I just did the rusty tr upgrade today. My tr ends were bad so I just did the whole thing for 100 bucks I think its worth it from rusty includes both tr ends and the tr itself is fn beefy

 

So if I want to go the ZJ Tie Rod route,what do I ask for when I call the parts house?

I called Autozone and asked for a Tie Rod for a 94 GC 5.2 Liter and the only thing they could find in the system is a "center link". The guy gave me a part number of VDS1235. I looked it up online and there was no picture.

Is this "centerlink" actually a Tie rod ?

 

i went to the jy and found one with good joints and boots for $8.00

 

I will be doing one of these as well. Mine on my 1990 xj is bent in front of the diff. I'm just gonna go to the jy and get a cheap Zj one. We have a pick n pull jy here so it's gonna be cheaper.

 

I know you mention the tie-rod by its self so this might be a useless comment. I got their steering conversion and can't be more unhappy with it. The roll on the tie rod is difficult to control and the bushings they provided don't last long; I've since machined some aluminum ones. The second gripe is the knuckle to knuckle tie rod, it drags across the head of the track bar bolt at full right lock. I wouldn't encourage anyone to go that route with them. I'm sure the tie-rod only upgrade is fine though, it's just a piece of DOM after all.

 

can i do this upgrade with my stock XJ tie rod with these tie rod ends? will they fit?

thanks

 

You will need the v8 zj outer tie rod and the tie rod adjusting sleeve the xj tie rod is smaller in diamenter.

 

I'm in complete agreement with the ZJ tie rod upgrade. You say you dont wheel super hard so you might save some coin by going to the JY and grabbing a TR off a ZJ and if it works out for your application you save the price of Rusty's TR and their ridiculous shipping cost.
I was looking at the Rusty's too (love their products, hate their shipping costs), figured I'll rock the ZJ tie rod, if it works out, great, if not, I'll upgrade to an aftermarket down the road. No sense spending money unnecesarely, right? Right now I'm 15 bucks into the ZJ upgrade and its held tough on two or three pretty rough runs so far.

 

Problem I have is the local yard. I called and asked for a Tie Rod for a 94 ZJ V8. The guy tells me I would have to bring in my old tie rod,(which is off an XJ and is Bent) and he "Might" be able to match it up for $75


UHHHMMM No thanks!!!